Specialised Measuring Systems

Pressure Measuring Instrument and part of Temperature

Measuring Instruments

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Pressure Measurement

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 Pressure Measuring Instruments
• For instrumentation and control 3 to 15 Psi is a common pressure
range in industry

Classification of Pressure Measuring Instruments

These can be broadly classified under three main categories which
are;
• Moderate Pressure Measurement
• Manometers
• Elastic Pressure Transducers
• Electrical Pressure Transducers

• Very High Pressure Measurement

• Electric gauges based on resistance change of gold chrome wire used

• High Vacuum Pressure Measurement

• McLeod Gauge
• Ionisation Gauge
• Knudson Gauge 3
 Manometers

• One of oldest means of pressure measurement.

• Manometers can be used to measure gauge, differential and

absolute pressures

• The manometer fluid should;

• Not well the wall
• Not absorb gas
• Not react chemically
• Have a low vapour pressure
• Move freely

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Types of Manometers

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 U-Tube Manometer
• If the limbs of the U- tube manometer is connected to the same
pressure source, then P1 = P2.

• When the limbs are connected to two different pressure sources

then there will be a difference in the level of the manometer fluid in
the limbs.

• If P2 ˃ P1 then P2 - P1 = ρh, by measuring the difference in the level

we can calculate the differential pressure knowing the density of
the manometer fluid.

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 Well-type Manometer
• In a well type manometer, one leg is replaced
by a large diameter well.

• The cross-sectional area of the well is much

larger than the other leg.

• when pressure is applied to the well, the

manometer fluid in the well lowers slightly
compared to the liquid rise in the other leg.

• As a result of this, the pressure difference can

be indicated only by the height of the liquid
in the column in the single leg.

For static balance; P2 - P1 = ρ(1+A1/A2)h

(If A1/A2 is far less than 1 then, P2 - P1 = ρh)
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 Inclined-Tube Manometers

• One leg of the manometer is inclined.

• The inclined leg expands the scale of the manometer such that
lower pressure differentials can be measured or read easily.

• The scale of the manometer can be extended greatly by

decreasing the angle of the inclined leg to a smaller value.

If the angle of inclination of the leg is α

Then for static balance;
P2 - P1 = ρ(1+A1/A2)R1sinα
(If A1/A2 is far less than 1 then, P2 - P1 = ρR1sinα) 8
 Elastic Pressure Transducer
• This type of instrument use primary sensing element as some
elastic material like bourdon tube, diaphragm, bellows, capsules
etc.
• It senses pressure and converts it into proportional mechanical
signal.
Bourdon Tube Gauge
• Bourdon tube gauge was first patented by E. Bourdon in France
1849.
• It finds wide range of inexpensive applications measurement of
static pressure.

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 Bourdon Tube Gauge

• The Bourdon tube obeys Hook’s law.

• Basically they are designed to follow the physical law that within
the elastic limit, stress is proportional to strain, that is deflection is
proportional to the pressure applied

• Since the open end of the tube is fixed, a change in pressure moves
the closed end.

• Air is used to calibrate a Bourdon tube during manufacture and its

pointer set to when no pressure is applied.

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 Bourdon Tube Gauge

Advantages
• Low cost

• High pressure range

• Good accuracy

• Can be constructed simply

Disadvantages

• Susceptible to shock and vibration

• Gauges are subjected to hysteresis

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Bourdon Tube Gauge

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 Diaphragm Pressure Gauge
• Is a thin plate of circular shape clamped firmly around it edges

• Diaphragm pressure gauges are based in the deflection of a

flexible membrane that separates regions of different pressure

• The deformation of a thin diaphragm is dependent on the

differences in pressure between its two surfaces.

• A metallic diaphragm pressure gauge uses a thin flexible

materials like brass, bronze, monel etc.

• Diaphragm can also be made of non-metallic materials such as

plastics and leather.

• These types of diaphragm gauges are spring loaded so that its

range and sensitivity can be varied.
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14
 Diaphragm Pressure Gauge

NB: for a linear relationship then

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 Diaphragm Pressure Gauge
An approximate relation between the differential pressure and
normalised deflection of a diaphragm at its center is given by;

Where;
• E is the elastic modulus of the material used

• T is the thickness of the material

• D is the diameter of the diaphragm

• d is the deflection at the centre

• r is the normalised deflection = d/t

• µ is the passion ratio 16
• A diaphragm capsule is formed by joining two diaphragms at it
periphery.

• The sensitivity of the pressure gauge is increased by joining

several capsules.

• When pressure is applied to a capsule assembly through an inlet

pipe which passes through the center of all the capsule then the
deflection of the gauge will be the sum of deflections of individual
capsules.

For most practical cases

m=4
n = -1.5
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 Diaphragm Pressure Gauge

Advantages
• Small in size and moderate cost

• Corrosion resistant material can be used

• Can withstand high pressure

• Good linearity

Disadvantages

• Limited to relatively low pressure

• Repairing work is difficult

• Lack of vibration and shock resistance

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 Bellows

• Bellows element is a one piece expansible, collapsible and axially

flexible member.

• They are essentially thin walled cylindrical shells with deep

convolutions and sealed at one end.

• Its sealed end undergoes axial displacement when pressure is

applied at the opened end.

• Bellows elements are used for measuring lower pressure. Its

more sensitive than Bourdon tubes.

• Nominal range of Bellows tube are 1244 to 689476 Pascal

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Bellows Pressure Gauge

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Bellows Pressure Gauge

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 Bellows Pressure Gauge

Advantages
• Moderate cost

• Good in the low to moderate pressure range

• Simple and rugged constructed

Disadvantages

• Not suitable for high pressure

• Not suitable for dynamic measurements

• Requires compensation for ambient high pressures

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Animation on Bellows Pressure Gauge

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 High Pressure Measurement – Wire coils in Bellows
• Measurement of pressures above 7000 bar is normally carried
out electrically by monitoring the change of resistance of wires of
special materials.

• Manganin is now the preferred material since its resistance-

pressure characteristics are more linear and sensitive than most
other materials.

• Devices made from gold-chromium wire were also used at one

time, but manganin wire devices are now predominant.

• A manganin pressure sensor consists of a coil of manganin wire

enclosed in a sealed, kerosene filled, flexible bellows.

• The unknown pressure is applied to one end of the bellows, which

transmit the pressure to the coil.
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 Wire coils in Bellows
• The magnitude of the applied pressure is then determined by
measuring the coil resistance.

• Pressures up to 30,000 bar can be measured by a manganin wire

pressure sensor, with a typical inaccuracy of 0.5%.

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 High Vacuum Pressure Measurement

• High Vacuum Pressure Measurement

• Thermocouple Gauge

• Pirani Gauge

• McLeod Gauge

• Ionisation Gauge

• Knudsen Gauge

• Thermistor Gauge
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Temperature Measurement

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 Temperature Measurement
• Temperature represents a condition that is characteristic of the
thermal state of a body

• Temperature is one of the most commonly measured, monitored

and controlled process variable in industrial applications

• Temperature measurement is related to the measurement of

thermal energy associated with a material or environment

• Temperature measurement poses some interesting theoretical

difficulties because of its rather abstract nature. These difficulties
become especially apparent when we come to consider the
calibration of temperature-measuring instruments, particularly
when we look for a primary reference standard at the top of the
calibration chain

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 Temperature Measurement
• Among these difficulties is the fact that any given temperature
cannot be related to a fundamental standard of temperature in
the same way that the measurement of other quantities can be
related to the primary standards of mass, length, and time.

• The second of thermodynamics relates temperature to heat.

Temperature is a quantity that determines the direction of heat
flow between two bodies

• If two bodies have the same temperature, then they must be in

thermal equilibrium.

• Temperature is a measure of the thermal energy in a body which

is the relative hotness or coldness of a medium and normally
measured in degrees using one of the following scales;
Fahrenheit (F), Celsius or Centigrade (C) and Rakine (R) or Kelvin
(K). 29
 Relationship of Temperature to Thermal Energy
 • A good approximation of the average thermal energy of a molecule
3
is given by;  𝐸 = 2 𝑘𝑇
𝑡h

• Where k is Boltzmann's constant = and T is the absolute

temperature (K)

• The average thermal speed or velocity of a gas molecule can be

found from;

• Where m is the mass of the molecule

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 Classification of Temperature Measuring Instruments
Temperature Measurement
Thermal Expansion
• Solid Expansion - Bimetallic thermometer
• Liquid Expansion – Liquid-in-glass thermometer
• Gas Expansion - Vapour pressure thermometer

Thermoelectric Sensors
• Thermocouples

Electrical Resistance Sensors

• Resistance Temperature Detectors (RDT)
• Thermistors

Radiation Methods
• Total Radiation Pyrometer
• Optical Pyrometer
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 Thermal Expansion Methods
• Thermal expansion methods make use of the fact that the
dimensions of all substances, whether solids, liquids, or gases,
change with temperature.

The Liquid-in-glass thermometer

• The liquid-in-glass thermometer is a well-known temperature

measuring instrument that is used in a wide range of applications.

• The fluid used is normally either mercury or colored alcohol, and

this is contained within a bulb and capillary tube.

• As the temperature rises, the fluid expands along the capillary

tube and the meniscus level is read against a calibrated scale
etched on the tube.

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 Thermal Expansion Methods - Liquid-in-glass thermometer
• Industrial versions of the
liquid-in-glass thermometer
are normally used to measure
temperature in the range
between 200 °C and +1000 °C,
although instruments are
available to special order that
can measure temperatures up
to 1500 °C.

• The major source of

measurement error arises
from the difficulty of correctly
estimating the position of the
curved meniscus of the fluid
against the scale.
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